


Whats in a Name

by bitterwriter99



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Andi Mack - Freeform, FLUFF EVENTUALLY, M/M, POV Alternating, Soulmate AU, Tyrus - Freeform, a little ambi eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2019-10-29 12:25:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17807915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitterwriter99/pseuds/bitterwriter99
Summary: Soulmate AU: The moment you say your soulmates name, you know its them.Besides his definite gayness and his deep love for his friends, Cyrus Goodman wasnt sure of anything, ever, and he was okay with that. Until he met TJ. Then, almost nothing was okay, and all he wanted to know was T.J.’s full name.T.J. Kippen was unsure of most things, but the moment he met Cyrus Goodman and spoke that name, Cyrus became the most certain part of his life. This was an issue for a long list of reasons, but thats beside the point. The main issue is that in no way shape or form was he planning on letting Cyrus know what “T.J” stood for. He was planning on keeping that a secret.Amber Kippen, however, had other plans in mind.





	1. T.J.

“Get my friend Cyrus here, a chocolate-chocolate-chip muffin.”

TJ knew he had no other option when it came to Buffy, and the boy in reference seemed pretty cute, and he was pretty certain he met his ‘keep-the-asshole-facade-going’ quota enough for one day, so he resigned himself to it.

“You can’t get your own muffin?” He asked.

It was Cyrus’ turn to look slightly annoyed in this conversation. “I didn’t need this extra level of embarrassment,” he muttered, “but no.”

“Alright, Cyrus—” and in that moment, the sky crumbled around TJ Kippen. The walls caved in, the floors began to rattle, and the sun stepped off the horizon just to punch him in the face. 

He knew the drill: you say your soulmate’s name, and you know. He’d heard the moments described countless times before, but they’re usually soft. Like warmth touching the side of your face for the first time after an endless winter. Like a garden just emerged in your front lawn without you planting it.

But in this moment, he felt like he could collapse right onto the ground. Maybe vomit.

Also in this moment, Buffy and Cyrus are looking at him like he just did both of those things, and maybe had sprouted a third eye as well.

“Are you going to finish that sentence or no?” Buffy inquired, seeming tired of his presence. That wasn’t new. Buffy being exasperated by him was stable. That was something he could handle, that could bring him back to reality.

Looking towards her usual look of distaste, he finally found his words again. “Got distracted, sorry,” he mumbled, turning his attention back towards Cyrus (there was a lot new with Cyrus, but he was choosing to ignore that as much as possible). “Walk up to the muffin like you already own it.”

TJ continued to walk Cyrus through getting the last muffin, not failing to realize the absurdity but kinda-cute nature of how he learned who his soulmate was. He spoke and acted as needed and went through the motions, but his mind was going a mile a minute.

Cyrus is cute. Not exactly exactly new information. Thought that from first sight. TJ likes boys. Or at least, is destined to be with a boy. Also not really new information, or at least not shocking.

Actually, the only new part of this was that he knew Cyrus existed, and TJ had an urge to protect him. As though his thoughts wanted to prove their point, TJ’s body moved to stand by Cyrus and he found himself proclaiming “he’s with me”, without even a second of thought beforehand to do so.

When they part ways, TJ’s mind is still on him for the rest of the day.

——————————

The next time their paths cross, TJ could say it was an accident, that he didn’t walk to the park often after overhearing Buffy mentioning hanging out with Cyrus there, that he wasn't looking for Cyrus. He could say that. He’d just be lying.

“Chocolate-chocolate-chip muffin, right?” TJ said smoothly, leaning back against the metal pole of the swing set and taking a moment to look at the boy now slowing down in front of him. Fake jock confidence acting skills come in handy in these moments, because damn, his soulmate was cute. Really cute. He wanted to walk up to him, rest a hand on the side of his face, and lean in. Wanted to be gentle with him. Wanted to—

“Scary basketball guy,” Cyrus shot back.

Right. Scary basketball guy. The tough guy. The bully. The one who was--well, is-- awful to Buffy. “TJ, actually.”

“I know. Cyrus,” he responded, motioning to himself. TJ wanted to say ‘Believe me, I know. I couldn’t forget if I tried’, but instead, he settled on a head nod.

“So, you come here,” he paused briefly, trying to avoid sounding like a character from a 90’s sitcom, “a lot?”

Cyrus let out a breathy laugh, or in other words, literally stabbed TJ. That laugh should be illegal.

“Only when I feel bad about myself, so fairly often.”

He was feeling bad about himself? That should also be illegal.

“Go on. You look like you need it,” Cyrus added, a hand pointing towards the open swing next to him.

The boys continued on, joking back and forth, talking about themselves and “their stuff” without actually saying too much to be weird, and TJ realized any sense of hesitation he had when he first approached was gone. He barely knew Cyrus yet, but he was comfortable with that. He felt overwhelmingly safe, and he had no intention of letting that go.

He kicked towards the sky, and looked down at the other boy. “Get up here!”

“I don’t swing high, that’s part of my stuff.”

TJ jumped down, running over to push Cyrus higher, hesitantly at first to make sure he wasn’t stepping over a line. When Cyrus began to laugh, he took it as confirmation that this was okay.

“UNDERDOG!”

When TJ turned to look at Cyrus, the look he was giving him could melt the entirety of the North Pole. Cyrus had on a smile that lit up his whole face, and TJ put it there. He wanted to do that every day.

“That was exhilarating!”

“Want another one?”

“No thank you.”

TJ dared a flirty smirk, and laughed as he replied “too bad.”

After about a minute more of pushing Cyrus (because he wanted to encourage Cyrus to try new things, not just as an excuse to touch the other boy, of course), TJ’s phone sounded from the bag he had abandoned on the ground earlier.

Amber. Shit.

“Sorry, I have to leave,” TJ said. When he looked to Cyrus, he almost thought he saw a look of disappointment cross the boy’s face, but that was just wishful thinking. 

TJ would never be someone Cyrus could love. Maybe friends, sure, but TJ is hard to break and had a known mean streak. Cyrus is everything he isn’t. Besides, Cyrus might not even be into guys. It’s not like it would be the first time something like that would happen— there have been news articles written about it. TJ has been researching it since the day he realized Cyrus was his soulmate. In rare cases, the person destined to be your soulmate doesn’t have you as theirs. Lots of gay people, their soulmate ends up being someone who is straight. They watch the person they love most end up with someone else. 

It’s theorized too that those most loving and kind might make the universe mess up and give their soul to too many people. Hundreds could love them, but they’ll only have a heart for one. TJ has only known Cyrus for a short time, but he doesn’t have a single doubt that he’s one of the most genuine souls he’s ever know.

“Everything okay?” Cyrus cut through his train of thought.

“Yeah,” except for the fact that I have a world ending crush on you and your best friend would probably murder me for being with you and also did I mention that you’re my soulmate? besides that things are pretty dandy, “I just lost track of time. I told my sister I’d be with her at the family dinner tonight. They’re always,” TJ pauses to find the words to describe the hell that is a broken suburban family friday night dinner. “Interesting. You know how that goes.” 

“Yeah, I do” Cyrus smiled softly back at him.  
After seeing that soft smile, TJ found the surge of confidence he usually lacks when it comes to boys, and shoves his phone towards him. “Could I get your number? This.. helped. A lot actually. Maybe we could talk again sometime.”

“One condition.” Cyrus seemed to believe that TJ would agree to it, or maybe he actually wanted to give TJ his number (again, wishful thinking, but let a boy dream?), because he was already typing on the screen.  
“Oh we have conditions now?”

“Yes. You need to be nicer to Buffy. Actually nicer. Pass her the ball. Don’t shut her down all the time.” Cyrus still held onto the phone, number already entered, and looked up into TJ’s eyes. “I don’t buy for a second that the way you treat her is who you are, but that doesn’t make it okay.”

“Okay.” TJ responded simply, for a few reasons. One, because Cyrus believing in him and looking at him like that made his heart pound in his chest and his lungs pause for a moment. He wasn’t certain he could handle saying more than that if he tried. Two, because he really did feel a little bad for how hard he was on Buffy. And three, because Cyrus could’ve said the condition was to pour burning hot soup onto his own hands and TJ would’ve asked ‘chicken noodle or tomato?’.

“Okay,” Cyrus replied, handing the phone back. 

“There, just texted you.”

“Got it. Tee-Jayyy- Kippen,” Cyrus muttered under his breath while adding him into his contacts. “TJ. What does that stand for anyways?”

The world around them seems to hold its breath in that moment. TJ thinks of what would happen if he told Cyrus outright, right now. TJ thinks of the unimpressed, casual response Cyrus could have after saying his full name. The rejection without knowing it’s rejection. He doesn’t pause to consider the “what if”, he just settles for pessimism because he is certain he doesn’t want to witness the rejection just yet. The opportunity of thinking “maybe…” is too comforting to get rid of just yet.

“That is for me to know and you to never find out,” TJ responded with a wink, throwing his bag over his shoulder. “See ya, Underdog.”

He walked away, knowing full well he would hide his name as long as he possibly could, and with a new way to avoid saying the name that makes him feel… feel more than he could possibly explain. Underdog. His, underdog.

Damn. He was a goner.


	2. Amber

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amber has been waiting for TJ to get back to help her through the "family" dinner, and is surprised to find him in a strange state when he comes back late. They push through a rough dinner, bond over mutual hurt, and Amber starts to begin thinking of a grand plan driven by her nosiness.  
> And so what if that plan involves her talking to a cute girl. It'll be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soooo i got a few asks about this and comments and decided to actually plan this out and write it, so here you are, lol! again, this is my first fic and I am much more of a poet than anything else, so don't expect too much.

It was in moments like these when Amber knew that if sexuality was a choice, she would still be a lesbian. 

“This was important, why could you not be on top of things for like, one day TJ? You were supposed to be here 20 minutes ago,” she paused to catch her breath, cutting the bread in front of her a little too aggressively and on beat with each word she spit out. “20. And don’t pull out ‘I couldn’t read the clock’ because I was texting you and--” Amber paused her rant as she whipped around, looking at TJ for the first time since she began it (which was the minute she heard the door open).

“Woah. You look like shit,” she restarted. 

“Thanks for the boost of confidence, Amber, can always count on you.” 

Though it would take a lot more than just a pouty face for her to give in, she softened a little. Her brother looked like he ran a marathon and maybe died for a minute or two on his way home today, so she was willing to cut him some slack. “Sorry, you don’t look like shit. You just look like you’ve stepped in some.” He rolled his eyes at that. 

“I’m fine. What do you need help with?” 

“I think I’ve got cover of the actual dinner, just go get changed. They’ll be here soon, okay?”

He did as instructed, and she sighed as she padded her way between the counter and the table, neatly resting plates and glasses down on the only clean tablecloth in the house. It was routine by this point, waiting for her mom to bring home a new boyfriend and trying to impress him, because no one deserved to be happy like Joy Kippen did. She’s spent her whole life assuring that Amber and TJ never felt anything but safe and loved, never caring for a moment about herself. It almost made Amber angry at times, watching her mom fall to pieces and put on a smile for the two of them. 

At least she’s dating now, Amber thought. It was a start. Amber didn’t think she ever would after what happened. She really was happy for her mom, even if it did mean having past family dinner’s with: a car mechanic named Richard who was in a hair band as the lead singer (who sounded like he was choking on a live pigeon when singing), her mom’s old boss named Chad (the name says it all), TJ’s basketball coach (that was a weird one), and now someone named Jeff (dear god). 

The sound of keys clanging at the door and TJ pounding down the stairs interrupted her thoughts, and quickly, she brushed down her dress, took a deep breath, and turned to face whatever tonight was going to be. 

“Amber sweetie! Look at you, you look beautiful,” her mom greeted her as she stepped inside. She pulled Amber’s hair around to frame her face, muttering something about how she needs to wear blue more often. 

“Hi mom,” TJ greeted, whole different person from what he was five minutes ago. He has no hesitance in being cold to Amber, but he would drop everything in the world for their Mom. 

Their mom pulled away, walking back towards the open front door and gesturing for someone to come in. “This is Jeff,” she smiled through the introduction, “and Jeff, this is Amber and TJ.”

She really tries to avoid judging by first sight, but Amber had to fight everything in her not to groan as this man walked through the door— and she knew TJ shared her thoughts as they made eye contact for the first time since seeing him. Jeff was wearing khaki cargo shorts, a bleach stained shirt, and boat shoes. Jeff had a shining bald spot that gave the moon a run for its money, with sunglasses resting just above it. Jeff looked like he was about to tell them about his father’s business. 

Honestly, the impression he gave wasn’t far off either. They sat to eat, and for the first half of dinner he slurped pasta into his mouth while talking about the golf course market in Shadyside and telling TJ that he had the look of an entrepreneur. Eventually the topic shifted to the usual questions-- current jobs, favorite subjects, sports, future-- to which the scripted responses had already been perfected. However, Jeff decided he wanted to add in a little extra punch of a question, just to nail in how much Amber and TJ already didn’t like him. 

“You kids find yours yet? You know, the whole soulmate bullshit?” 

The topic they dont touch on in front of Mom. Ever. 

Amber gave him the benefit of the doubt, and cleared her throat before quickly responding. “No, I haven’t.” She turned to listen to TJ’s response, hoping he would smoothly change the subject, but instead found him looking similar to when he walked in earlier. 

“Sorry ah, no I, I haven’t either,” and then silence. She made a mental note of asking him about that later, and asked Jeff a question about his job, which sent him off in another spiral about the glory of America. 

Time passed lazily, but eventually the dinner finished and TJ and Amber ended up on the floor of her room, whispering sentences they think Jeff would say and laughing about it until their stomachs hurt. It was the only way to get through this kind of thing. 

“Hey Teej,” Amber said softly after silence had settled between them for a bit. “You want to tell me what happened?” 

“I think I met someone,” he replied after a moment.

“TJ! That’s amazing, why wouldn’t you tell me right away,” she hit him with the pillow closest to her. “Who is it?”

He laughed, and his face went bright red. She thought she knew what was coming, but didn’t push. She wanted him to be willing to tell her. 

“His name’s Cyrus.” 

And there it is. She’s had her suspicions in the past that both of them were gay as they come, but she’d never ask him. Amber had known since she was young, and of course it was confusing, but she was a lucky one. She was the type of person who felt an ounce of fear and just rolled with it, never faltering in her steps. When she was nine, Ethan Simmons kissed her by the maple tree on the playground, and she told her mom he was boring. “Girls are pretty and I like them better,” she announced. Her mom laughed, and told her she could like whoever she wants to like, and from then on, Amber did. Her brother may be an asshole, but she knows he’s more insecure than he plays himself out to be, and she loves him, and she’d be damned if he ever thought he had to hide that part of himself from her. 

“He’s amazing, Ambs. I feel like I could tell him anything, and I just met him.”

“Cyrus, huh? He go to Jefferson? Do I know his friends? What’s he look like like? Is he into you?” Amber said she wouldn’t push on the gay thing, but hey, she’s still his sister. 

“Not answering any of those except the last, which is probably not. And that’s enough questions for tonight. Goodnight.” He gets up to leave her room, and as he walks out the door, the memory of his reaction to the question about soulmates tugs at his mind. She knows now isn’t the time to ask, but he isn’t getting off that easy. 

So, when the next day at school, she overhears the cute girl a few lockers down call out to someone named Cyrus, could he really be mad at her for going over? When he told her his name it was pretty much asking her to get involved. Amber is the nosiest person Amber knows. She gets the majority of her energy and entertainment from daring to disturb the universe. 

“Hey uh, hi, sorry to interrupt, but could I ask you something really quick?” Amber asked, finding it much harder to speak now that she was up close and noticed just how beautiful this girl was. 

“Yeah, what’s up-- oh, I love your shirt!” 

“Oh, uh, thanks, I got it from a thrift store actually.” Amber replied, entirely certain her face matched the color of pink she was wearing. 

“I love that. I’m Andi, by the way.” Andi spoke through a laugh, and Amber could feel her heart going a mile a minute. It was like the universe decided it needed to borrow all the air from her lungs. 

“Nice to meet you Andi.”

Holy shit.

Shit shit shit shit shit. 

“You too, Amber. Anyways, what--” Andi abruptly stopped, looking just as dazed as Amber had to have appeared. “Whoa.”

“Yeah. Are we, or I mean, did you also?” Amber may have sounded like she was a preschooler learning her question words for the first time, but Andi understood.

“Yes!” Andi almost yelled in response. The two girls burst into laughter and stood there for a moment, before Amber realized the reason she came over in the first place. 

“Very off topic, but that boy you were talking to, his name is Cyrus, right?”

“Yes?” Andi looked a bit confused at the question.

“Is he the only person with that name in this school?” 

“I mean, as far as I know, yes. Why?” Andi replied. 

Amber smirked, a plan already forming in her head.

“Perfect. And, it’s a long story, but I can tell you over dinner sometime soon?”

**Author's Note:**

> Ive never written a fic before, so uhhh... here goes nothing I guess? Im more of a poetry gal. Feel free to lmk what you think on here or on tumblr! (@bittertyrus). I’m still up in the air as to wether ill continue this or nottt. If I were to continue it, it would follow the plot I described in my summary, be based on non canon scenes, and be alternating perspectives between characters!


End file.
